Farmers' Market Repairs To Begin In March

Fort Pierce — For John Scotto, the drive to work every day is "depressing."

When he enters the Fort Pierce State Farmers' Market he's greeted with piles of debris and a plethora of obliterated buildings courtesy of two 2004 hurricanes.

Scotto's fruit-packing business, Tuxedo Fruit Co., still is missing one-third of its roof.

"When it rains, you can't work," Scotto said. "When it gets cold, you don't work. You're constantly repairing things because the equipment and machinery wasn't made to be out in the elements. It's been expensive to stay here."

Scotto and several other tenants in the Farmers' Market have been without roofs, walls and doors since the 2004 hurricanes tore through.

All share a common frustration with the Florida Department of Agriculture, which owns the market.

Now the state has finally appropriated $21 million toward repairing the market.

Repairs are expected to start in March, said Craig Christ, construction project consultant for the Bureau of State Farmers' Markets in Tallahassee.

Christ said the state is providing the upfront money to do the repairs and expects to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Four of the buildings will be replaced and 10 buildings will be repaired, Christ said.

However, FEMA is refusing to reimburse the state for four of the buildings, claiming the old buildings were damaged from termite infestation, Christ said. The state is appealing that decision, he said.

The market, home to mostly wholesale companies, opened in 1940.

It houses companies such as Economy Chemical, which conducts fruit fly testing on citrus; K & M, one of the largest producers of European cucumbers in the United States; Freshco, a juice-processing plant, which has contracts with Minute Maid and Indian River Citrus; Plant Industries, a bug-testing company; and Burns Systems, a sanitizing service for restaurants.